Wilderness.org - Boucherhttp://wilderness.org/taxonomy/term/1670
enNew Climate Bill Draft a Good Start, but Needs Workhttp://wilderness.org/blog/new-climate-bill-draft-good-start-needs-work
<div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Oct 22, 2008</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p><em>By J.P Leous </em></p>
<p>A federal limit on global warming pollution received a timely endorsement from two key House chairmen in October.</p>
<p>U.S. Reps. John D. Dingell, (D-Mich.) and Rick Boucher, (D-Va.), have vowed to tackle global warming. Their proposed cap-and-trade legislation, released Oct. 7, sets the stage for future discussion on preventing dangerous emissions.</p>
<p><b>Thank you, Congressmen. We needed that. </b></p>
<p>The Wilderness Society welcomes the progress but we remain wary of its modest near-term goals.</p>
<p>As chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Dingell released the draft bill of the legislation Oct. 7. But for all the good the bill would do putting global warming on the front burner, it still leaves much to be desired.</p>
<p>Make no mistake. The legislation is a big step forward. It acknowledges the need for cap-and-trade laws and would require an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the United States by 2050.</p>
<p><b>So what&rsquo;s the problem?</b> Only minor reductions would be required over the next 10 years.</p>
<p>In fact, the draft bill includes only a six percent reduction from 2005 levels by the year 2020. That&rsquo;s far short of the 20 to25 percent reduction most scientists suggest we need in order to head off dangerous global warming later in the century.</p>
<p>Moreover, when it comes to protecting natural resources from global warming, it proposes options but no requirements. Failing to protect our natural heritage is no longer an option.</p>
<p>&quot;The draft legislation is the beginning, but only the beginning, of passing an effective climate bill,&quot; says David Moulton, Director of Climate Policy for The Wilderness Society.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://wilderness.org/sites/default/files/styles/blog_full/public/legacy/profiler/alaska-iceberg-william-c.-gladish.jpg?itok=cccJZ7H8" width="500" height="333" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-video field-type-file field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"></div></div><div class="field field-name-media-description field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <p>Iceberg melting, Alaska. Photo by William C. Gladish.</p>
</div></div></div>Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:52:57 +0000Anonymous100273 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/blog/new-climate-bill-draft-good-start-needs-work#commentsWilderness Society Praises Dingell, Boucher for Introducing Cap-and-Trade Legislationhttp://wilderness.org/press-release/wilderness-society-praises-dingell-boucher-introducing-cap-and-trade-legislation
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>WASHINGTON &mdash; <em>Statement by Wilderness Society Director of Climate Policy David H. Moulton on introduction of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce&rsquo;s draft cap-and-trade legislation to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions:</em></p>
<p>&ldquo;We are at risk of compounding the financial crisis with environmental chaos if we do not tackle the causes of global warming now. The Wilderness Society applauds Chairmen John D. Dingell (D-MI) and Rick Boucher (D-VA) for proposing cap-and-trade legislation at this time regardless of the upheaval in the financial markets. We simply must act now to re-direct our economy away from expensive, unsustainable and polluting sources of energy that threaten the health of the planet. Instead, we must work to implement an energy economy based on clean, renewable sources and this bill marks a first step in encouraging such a change.</p>
<p>&ldquo;In particular, the Dingell-Boucher draft supports a cap-and-trade system that would result in an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Unfortunately, it includes only a six percent reduction from 2005 levels by the year 2020. That goal is far short of the 20-25 percent reduction most scientists suggest we need in order to head off dangerous global warming later in the century.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The bill also provides that dedicated funding for natural resources adaptation is an &ldquo;option&rdquo; for the use of carbon allowance auction revenues. TWS believes that failure to fund natural resources adaptation is not an option&mdash;that it is absolutely necessary to bridge the global warming gap&mdash;the period of inevitable warming we cannot avoid for the next several decades even if we eventually manage to constrain global by 2050 and beyond. By proposing weaker 2020 targets, the bill makes it even more difficult to bridge the gap, exposing our communities, ecosystems, public lands, national parks and wildlife refuges to unacceptable adverse impacts for even longer periods of time. We look forward to working with Chairmen Dingell and Boucher to ensure the 2020 targets are strengthened to lessen the impacts global warming will cause on our natural resources this century.&rdquo;</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-release-date field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2008-10-07T01:00:00-04:00">Oct 7, 2008</span></div></div></div>Tue, 07 Oct 2008 07:00:00 +0000Anonymous100305 at http://wilderness.orghttp://wilderness.org/press-release/wilderness-society-praises-dingell-boucher-introducing-cap-and-trade-legislation#comments